Railway-car.



'No. 728,029. I PATENTED MAYlZ, 1903.-

L. A. SHEPARD.

RAILWAY GAR.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 3. 1902.

2 SHEETS-BILLIE! 1.

N0 MODEL.

' N0'.-72s, o29.- PATBNTED MAY 12. 1903. L. A. SHEPARD.

RAILWAY GAR.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 3. 1902- NO MODEL. 2 SHBE-TS4SHEET 2.

Mus-MW MM NlED STA PatentedMay 12, 1903.

l ATENit -'FFICE.

LOUIS A. SHEPARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR'TO CORNELIUS -VANDERBILT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RAILWAY-CAR.

sPEcIFIoATioiv forming part of Letters Patent No. 728,029, dated my 12', 1903.

Application filed October 3, 1902. Serial No. 125,747. (No model.)

To aZZwhoTn it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lours A. SHEPARD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Oars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the framework of cars constructed largely or wholly of metal and preferably of the ordinary commercial shapes and sizes of rolled iron or steel.

It also relates to improvements in the dooroperating mechanism of cars from which the contents are to be discharged through doors hinged at or near the bottom of the car. It further relates to an improved form of carbody especially adapted for the carrying of coke. r

In the drawings which accompany this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one half of a car embodying my invention, the other half being exactly similar thereto. Fig. 2 is a half-section at the center, and Fig. 3 is a half-section at the bolster of the car. i

It will be understood that my invention is not limited to the form of car illustrated, but may be embodied in cars of other forms, such as flat and gondola cars, its scope being defined by the claims.

The framework of the car comprises two longitudinal center sills 1 1, which are preferably rolled-metal channels. They extend from one end of the car to the other and carry the draft-rigging 2. Between these sills is secured the bolster center-bearing 3. The side sills 4 4, which are preferably rolledmetal channels, also extend the full length of the car.

Transverse bolster-beams 5 5, shown as channels, rest upon and are secured to the sills 1 and 4. The bolster is completed by the plates 6 6, secured to and depending from the beams 5 and also secured at their ends to the sills 1 and 4 by means of knee-braces. (See Fig. 3.) The lower edges of the plates 6 are spaced apart by blocks 7 secured thereto and forming the side bearings.

Vertical posts 8, which are preferably channels, are secured between the ends of the beams 5. Their lower ends extend below the said beams and are secured to channels or sills 4. Posts 9, also shown as channels, are secured at their lower ends to the sill 4. The top rail 10 of the car, which may likewise be a channel, is secured to the tops of the posts 8 and 9 by means of plates 11, as shown. Diagonal wall-beams 12 are secured to the sill 4 and by means of the plates'll to the posts 8 and 9-and rail 10. Vertical cornerposts 12 are secured at their lower ends to the sills 4 and at their upper ends to the side rails 10 and end rails 13 by plates 14.

It will be observed that the side of the car is a truss, of which the top rail 10 is the compression member, the side sill 4 is the tension member, and the posts 8 and 9 and diagonals 12 form the braces. These trusses carry the greater portion of the weight of the carbody.

The walls of the car are preferably formed of sheets of expanded metal 15, the lower edges of which are secured to the outer surfaces of the sills 4from bolster to bolster, be-

,ing held between the said sills and the posts 8 and 9. The said sheets 15 extend to the .top of the car and are secured to the inner surfaces of the rails 10 and of the posts 8 and cured to the inner surfaces of the rails 10 and 13 and posts 8 and 12", the plates 14 being secured over said sheets. These sheets extend from the top of the car to the floor-plates 20.

The floor-framework comprises the inclined beams 17 and transverse beams 18 19, to which the sloping floor-plates 20 are riveted, as shown. The beam 18 is supported by the diagonal beams 21, and the beam 19 is supported by a bent plate 22, secured to the bolsterbeams 5.

Above the sills 1 1 a longitudinal ridge or peak is formed by the floor-plates 23, resting upon arched bars 24, which are secured to the center sills and have upper vertical portions 25, secured to each other, and lower vertical portions 26, to which are secured the vertical portions 27 of sloping plates 28. The plates 28 form part of the bottom of the hoppers 29 and are laid upon transverse bent beams 30,

which have central horizontal portions 30, secured to the sills 1 l and end portions sloping downwardly therefrom. Longitudinal beams 31 are secured to the lower ends of the beam 30.

The hopper-doors 31 are hinged along their outer edges to brackets carried by the longitudinal sills 4 and may be operated by means of a transverse shaft or drum 32. This shaft is journaled in the sills 1 and 4., its ends projecting beyond the sills 4 and being provided with any ordinary means for turning and holding the shaft. A chain or other suitable tension device 33 is attached at one end to the shaft 32 between the sills 1 and passes down over a sheave 34: to the door 31, to which it may be attached, as shown, or otherwise arranged to draw the door into a closed position as it is wound up by the rotation of the shaft 32.

Among the advantages obtained by constructing a car according to my invention are that the supporting framework possesses great strength combined with lightness and may be quickly and economically constructed from ordinary commercial shapesof rolled steel or iron. Each pair of doors is opened and closed by a single shaft placed transversely, so that it may be readily operated from the side of the car. The use of expanded metal for the walls of the car provides a very light and strong lattice-work well adapted for the carrying of coke.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. A metallic framework for cars, comprising a center sill, a transverse bolster-beam entirely above said sill, and side trusses, the tension members of said trusses being secured in engagement with the said bolster-beam, substantially as described.

2. A metallic framework for cars, comprising a transverse bolster-beam and side trusses, the ends of the bolster-beam being secured in engagement with the upper surfaces of the tension members of said trusses,substantially as described.

3. A metallic framework for cars, comprising a transverse bolster-beam and side trusses secured thereto,the lower chord of said trusses being entirely below and the upper chord being entirely above the said bolster-bea m, substantially as described.

4. In a car, a longitudinally-hinged door, a transverse drum or shaft, a sheave below said shaft, and. a tension device for operating said door, having one end attached to said shaft and bearing against said sheave intermediate its ends, substantially as described.

5. In a car, the combination of longitudinal sills, a transverse drum or shaft journaled therein, a sheave below said shaft, a longitudinally-hinged door, and a tension device for operating said door, having one end attached to said shaft and bearing against said sheave intermediate its ends, substantially as described.

6. In a car, the combination of longitudinal center sills, a transverse drum or shaft, a longitndinally-hinged door, and a device operating by tension to close said door, and having one end attached to said shaft between said center sills, substantially as described.

7. In a hopper-bottom car, the combination of longitudinal center sills,a transverse drum or shaft, a longitudinallyhinged door, the free edge of which is below said shaft, and a device operating by tension to close said door, the ends of said tension device being attached to said shaft and door, substantially as described.

8. In a car, a center sill and a transverse floor-beam having a central horizontal portion secured to said sill, and portions sloping downwardly therefrom, substantially as described.

9. A metallic car comprising a center sill, a transverse bolster-beam above said sill, side trusses, the tension members of said trusses being secured in engagement with the said bolster-beam, and sheets of expanded metal secured to the sides of the said trusses, substantially as described.

10. A metallic car, comprising a transverse bolster-beam, side trusses, the ends of the bolster-beam being secured in engagement with the upper surfaces of the tension members of the trusses, and sheets of expanded metal secured to the sides of said trusses, substantially as described.

11. A metallic car, comprising a transverse bolster-beam, side trusses secured thereto, the lower chord of said trusses being below and the upper chord being above the said bolster-beam, and sheets of expanded metal secured to the sides of said trusses, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 1st day of October, 1902.

LOUIS A. SHEPARD.

In presence of EDWIN O. FARLOW, WILLIAM K. AUcHINcLoss. 

